Environment

...Thursday, Congresswoman Aumua Amata’s bill (H.R. 5025) to put sensible time limits on any government fines and penalties for fishing vessels was marked up and passed by the Natural Resources Committee....

...Honolulu is accepted into a two-year acceleration program that will provide cities powerful new resources and access to cutting-edge support to help meet or beat their near-term carbon reduction goals....

...Originally bid at $76,400, the contract grew to $543,374—a 611 percent increase—while its scope shrank and the deliverables’ deadline were extended by a year. In the end, the PKF founder was arrested at the arport....

...The eviction suit, filed October 1, 2018 in Honolulu District Court is the latest of several lawsuits filed against HLH—including a separate eviction suit seeking removal of HLH from several big island houses on Kukaiau Ranch land....

...Robert Farrell, who has served as Chief of the DLNR Division of Conservation and Resources Enforcement (DOCARE) since January 2017, announced his decision to move into a project support role with reduced hours, effective today....

...Harvard University researchers find that the transition to wind or solar power in the U.S. would require five to 20 times more land than previously thought, and, if such large-scale wind farms were built, would warm average surface temperatures over the continental U.S. by 0.24 degrees Celsius....

...During the meetings participants will engage in a “game” that sparks discussion about the best way to transition O‘ahu to a clean energy future and meet stated goals under the Paris climate agreement....

...Hawaii’s governor signed a 100 percent mandate in 2015, making it the first state in the country to require its entire energy mix to originate from renewables. California passed a similar bill in August....

...When a couple of penny-stock touts, one of whom is listed in the Panama Papers Offshore Leaks Database, start selling timber futures and carbon credits in Hawaii, the greenwash is thicker than most....

...Remember that case from earlier this year where the Hawaii Supreme Court held that for purposes of Hawaii's Due Process Clause, the Sierra Club has a property right in a "clean and healthful environment?"....

... Fines in excess of $236,000—still accruing at $1000 a day—and a lawsuit--are forcing into the open a 13-year battle over alleged violations of numerous State and County permitting and land use laws on a Huelo, Maui shoreline property owned by Hawaii Sierra Club Vice Chair and Maui Tomorrow President Lucienne De Naie ....

...Maui County was upgraded from Class 8, which has a 10 percent discount on flood insurance premiums, to Class 7, which allows a 15 percent discount. This means the average premium will drop from $763 to $721....

...replacing Styrofoam products with paper alternatives often creates more waste (in volume and energy use) and generates more air and water pollution. The environmental impact of paper manufacturing is worse than foam manufacturing....